The Marquise Diamond

The Marquise Diamond

The Marquise Diamond shape looks amazing in engagement rings as a solitaire or with diamonds on the band and halo. The Marquise is one of my favorite shaped diamonds, when you find the perfect combination of colour and clarity it is a truly an amazing diamond. In my opinion the Marquise shape reflects the light in a unique way, different to the princess or Brilliant cut diamond shapes. This is another example of a diamond shape that looks a lot bigger than the brilliant cut or princess shape when comparing the identical carat weights.

The Marquise shape has similar reflection characteristics to the Pear shape, If cut incorrectly the stone can give off a “Bow tie effect” in centre which means there is light leaking out the stone rather then reflecting it. See image below for a poorly cut Marquise diamond –

A marquise diamond should always be set with claws to protect the two points to preventing chipping. Because these points were once nearest the outer edge of the rough stone, flaws such as naturals, extra facets, and other inclusions may be located here. Since the points are covered by claws these flaws will be invisible once the diamond is set. The only remaining concern would be if the flaws are significant enough to affect the stability of the diamond.

The chart below serves as a general guideline for evaluating the cut of a marquise diamond.